Fireworks question.. (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

Occasionally down in Florida, you'll come across Firework sellers in huge K-Mart like stores. I'm assuming it's legal to buy and use 'em down there or else they wouldn't be doing it.

I'm also assuming this is where southern jersey residents probably get them on trips, because every year around this time, you'll hear fireworks going off during the night. Mostly small ones like bottlerockets or flares. But occasinoally you'll see the proffesional ones that go off in a big bloom of colors, or the white boomers that just flash for a second and go off.

Now, here's the two questions I've been wondering.
1)Can private house users get firework permits to shoot these things off like towns can get for displays, or are they just pressing their luck in doing this stuff?

And 2)Anyone go to the South Jersey Shore while on the 4th? You'll have people shooting fireworks on the beach all night long, from Belmar to Seaside Heights, and no one bothers to stop the activity, although there are some bacup fire trucks there in case.. Are stunts like this allowed for one night?

 

[Jay H]

You don't have to go all the way to Florida though, you can get fireworks if you know where to look in Philly or NYC and I think there are some states closer to NJ than FL to get fireworks legally.

In Alaska, they are quite the big business cause certain towns sell fireworks legally so you'll be driving along and this huge tacky and gawdy building would appear selling fireworks and you'd think "top that" but then drive another 1/2 mile and yup, it's tackier and gawdier than the last one!

Jay

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Actually, most common fireworks are illegal in Florida. (So is cocaine, but that doesn't mean you can't find people selling it.) About the only ones that the general public can legally buy are things like sparklers. Your basic fireworks, rockets or anything that shoot up in the air (or anywhere) are illegal.

One way they get around the law is having buyers sign a form claiming they're buying the stuff for legal purposes, like scaring birds away from crops, or the like. Funny how many people have bird problems the first week of July. Plus maybe law enforcement is busy with other things; I don't hear about many people getting busted for it. (I'm not really sure if buying is illegal, maybe just selling is.)

Personally I don't see a point in buying fireworks, legal or not, when I can see a much more impressive display for free put on by a city or at a theme park.

If you want a better selection of legal fireworks, try other southern states like the Carolinas, where the laws are more lax than they are here.

 

[MikeAlletto]

The only people that get busted for it are when annoying neighbors call the cops and its illegal in the state you are in. We used to shoot them off every 4th when I lived in IL when I was a kid. We'd all go to Indiana to buy them. We lived across from a cop also and he didn't care as long as you don't blow your hand off or burn other peoples property down its ok.

I'm all for blowing stuff up but if you are going to light fireworks this year DO have a bucket of water around (to toss matches, punks, dead sparklers and anything else done exploding but still smoldering into) and a fire extinguisher just in case. Oh and use punks instead of matches, its safer.

If its really windy try to avoid bottle rockets if you have neighbors that are close by and they aren't participating. Those bottle rocks do drift far in the wind

 

[Nathan*W]

A "short drive" (4-5 hours) down I-95 to South of the Border will get you just about any type of fireworks you'd want. Here in Virginia anything that flies and/or explodes is illegal (basically anything that's remotely fun). The upside is that it's only a Class 4 misdemeanor, which means you can only be given a ticket (not arrested) and the maximum punishment is $250. Not that it's even enforced. (although the firemen are usually pretty grumpy about it)

 

[Khoa Tran]

there are only three cities in my county that allows fireworks, and luckily i'm in one of them...every year, wooden stands come up selling fireworks...=)

 

[Cam S]

Wow, lucky for me Sicamous, which is just over an hour away, sells fireworks in every single store in the city, and dirt cheap too. I picked up about 60 bucks worth a few weeks ago for Canada Day. I got one that is 3 feet long and 4"s in diameter that has 60 shots, so I'm looking forward to blowing them up. Too windy on Canada day for them, so I have to wait :frowning:

 

[MikeAlletto]

Dammit, everyone on my block is shooting off fireworks and here I am bored at home, don't really know anyone on the block. I knew I should have bought some stuff to blow up...oh well, there is always next year.

 

[JeffTodd]

Right there with you Mike.....fireworks going off in the neighborhood around my apartments. And I was too lazy to go and buy any of my own today. Oh well.

 

[DeathStar1]

Same here, well, at least as of last night. And some pretty decent sized fireworks too, not just bottle rockets or flares.

Strange though, when I went to the seaside heights show, the beach was open, with hundreds of people there, and the gates where wide open as well. Yet, when the fireworks where over, they locked all the gates, so everyone was stuck on the beach. They had to put peopel and baby carriges and the like over the gates in order to get out. Luckilly I climbed up on a lifeguard boat over to a deck and got out over a banister, ubt still a strange move considering we where no where near the fireworks..

 

[Chris Knox]

A short hop up the road from me in South Carolina are two WAREHOUSES that sell fireworks like you could only imagine. Pallettes and pallettes of massive rockets as high as three feet and enough explosives to give your city's show a run for its money. They are open 24 hours a day!

You walk in this place and just gasp! If someone were to thump a cigarette in this place South Carolina would be a smoldering crater.

They have video monitors on the walls that are menu driven an you can select the rocket that you are interested in and get a preview of the light show that it will perform and how large, etc. Some of those puppies put off an impressive amount of show!

I can only imagine what it would be like to light up a big one and run, only to have it fall over in your front yard just before going off.